The field of this invention relates to a sail surfing vessel which uses a sail for propulsion and more particularly to constructing of the sail surfing vessel so as to be collapsible in a substantially smaller space when not in use in order to facilitate portability from one location to another.
Surfboards have long been known and used by many in the engagement of the water hobby known as surfing. Within recent years, the usage of the surfboard has been extended to include a sail. Therefore, instead of the surfboard being propelled totally by the waves, the board can now be propelled by the air in a manner similar to that of a sailboat.
The conventional sail surfboard takes the form of a conventional surfboard which is usually constructed of plastic, foam and fiberglass as an integral unit which is generally between eight and twelve feet in length. There is also utilized in conjunction with the board a mast that is again somewhere in the range of around fourteen to sixteen feet in length. There is also utilized a boom which connects to the mast which is generally in the range of six to nine feet in length. Because of the elongated nature of all the parts and since it is usually necessary to have the board be transported to the location of where it will be used, it is necessary to obtain a specific form of transportion device in order to transport the sail surfboard to its desirable location. Typical transportation devices would be a station wagon, van or truck. If it is desirable to transport the sail surfboard by automobile, it is generally necessary to install a luggage rack on the top of the automobile with the sail surfing board being attached thereto during transportation.
The storage and transportion problems associated with the sail surfboard, due to their considerable length, inhibits the practice of the sport. Carrying of a board on the exterior of an automobile makes it highly susceptible to loss by theft when the automobile is left unattended. Also, the sail surfboard is susceptible to damage because of failure of or accidental dislodgement from the luggage rack. Still further, it is difficult and expensive to carry one's surfboard on public modes of transportion. By way of a specific example, there is normally a significant extra fee charged by an airline to transport a sail surfing board.
In the past, there have been attempts at designing collapsible sail surfboards. However, the collapsible sail surfboards of the prior art have been complex in construction and require a significant amount of assembly work prior to usage. An example, of a sail surfing board of the prior art, is shown within the U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,868, issued to Fritz Schagen, entitled "Wind Surfer", issued Dec. 14, 1976.
There is a need to construct a sail propelled surfboard which is composed of few parts and can be quickly and easily folded to a collapsed position, is light in weight therefore facilitating personal carrying, and also is strong and capable of incurring a significant amount of abuse while experiencing little or no damage.